IN A sharp response, India on Saturday dismissed claims by the United Nations that the UN mission monitoring the ceasefire “has not directly observed” any firing along the Line of Control (LoC).

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Responding to a question on the “surgical strikes” conducted by India targeting terror launch pads in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK), UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a daily press briefing that the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) had not “directly observed” any firing.

“They are obviously aware of the reports of these presumed violations and are talking to the relevant concerned authorities,” he said.

Dismissing these remarks, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin said the facts on the ground do not change whether somebody has “observed” it or not.

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“I have nothing to say because what (Dujarric) said was ‘directly observed’. It’s a call that they have to take. I cannot place myself in their boots and directly observe something,” said the Indian envoy, when asked to comment on Dujarric’s remarks.

Akbaruddin said the “facts on the ground do not change whether somebody acknowledges or not. Facts are facts, we presented the facts and that’s where we stand.”

India on Thursday carried out “surgical strikes” on seven terror launch pads along the LoC, with the Army inflicting “significant casualties” on terrorists preparing to infiltrate from PoK.